Pearl calls to 'bring the hostages home' at NCAA postgame press conference

(JTA) - Bruce Pearl, whose Auburn men's basketball team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen this weekend, opened his postgame press conference by calling to "bring the hostages home."

Auburn is one of three No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament with a Jewish coach. All three made the tournament's round of 16, as has the biggest Jewish star on the court, Danny Wolf.

Pearl is known for his outspoken support for Israel, which he put on display Saturday after the Tigers beat Creighton in the second round. He began his press conference by acknowledging the team's victory, then spoke about Edan Alexander, an American-Israeli held hostage by Hamas who is believed to be alive.

Pearl said it was "God's plan... to give me an opportunity to start this press conference really briefly and remind the world that Edan Alexander is still held hostage in Gaza right now. An American held hostage. And there aren't enough people in this country that know his name."

He went on, "So I asked the players if it was OK if I started out this press conference and just called out the name of an American. Bring the hostages home."

Speaking later in the press conference, Pearl repeated that he believes one of the reasons for Auburn's success is that God has given him a platform as a Jewish American. He also recounted his grandfather's story of immigration to the United States and defended Israel, which he called the "ancestral homeland for the Jewish people."

"It starts with my faith and it starts with answering the question, 'Why has God blessed Auburn and this basketball team the way he has all season long?'" he said. "And honestly it's to, I think, put us in a platform - in this case right now, myself, as a Jewish American who loves his country more than anything else in the world."

Pearl is a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump. And on Sunday, he shared a post on the social network X saying that the two-state solution, which would see a Palestinian state established alongside Israel, "is dead."

The Auburn-Michigan matchup, on Friday night, will pit Pearl's team against Danny Wolf, the Israeli-American player who's had a standout college career and is expected to be drafted into the NBA later this year. After a nail-biter in the first round, Michigan beat Texas A&M to advance to the Sweet 16.